Rea Still Inside The Top Four Despite Bad Luck at Monza

Jonathan Rea (Castrol Honda) competed with all the determination he could summon on race day at the ultra-fast 5.777km Monza circuit and was rewarded with a top six finish in race one, but punished for another rider’s error in race two when he was taken out at the first chicane. Jonathan had qualified in third place after superpole but was not able to get away with the leading riders in race one, and was prevented from making any further improvements by his fall in race two.

Jonathan Rea

Jonathan Rea

Both Monza WSBK races were won by Eugene Laverty (Yamaha) on a day when the championship leader Carlos Checa (Ducati) had his advantage cut to 27 points. Rea now has 89 points, third place rider Max Biaggi (Aprilia) 117 just one point behind overall second placed rider, Marco Melandri (Yamaha). Laverty’s double win takes him fifth, only four points from Rea.

Jonathan is one of four riders to have taken at least one win this year, in the four rounds held so far. Checa, Melandri and Laverty are the others.

Castrol Honda rider Ruben Xaus scored a single point in race one, and was 12th in race two. Ruben is now 15th in the rankings, on 31 points. He had just missed out on superpole qualification and was 17th on the grid.

Third Place For Foret After Tough Monza Race Weekend

Fabien Foret (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) was unable to get on terms with eventual Monza race winner Chaz Davies (Yamaha) after being held up in the early laps but his impressive push through to a clear third place sees Fabien ranked sixth in the championship table. Foret had been fourth on the grid after qualifying and finished three seconds from second placed rider Luca Scassa (Yamaha) in the 16-lap race.

As usual the Monza race weekend proved tough and unforgiving for riders and machines alike, with a fast top speed as well as a good overall set-up required to stay on terms with other riders at this unique circuit, where slipstreaming is still king.

Robbin Harms (Harms Benjan Racing Team Honda could not stay with many other Honda machines on the straights at Monza and had to settle for 11th, one place up on his qualifying position. He is still top Honda rider in the standings, fourth, on 42 points. Davies and Luca Scassa (Yamaha) are tied on 70 points each, Broc Parkes if third on 60 points, and his Kawasaki team-mate David Salom shares 42 points with Harms.

Sam Lowes (Parkalgar Honda) knew his weekend would be particularly challenging as he was riding with a still fractured left collarbone, the result of a heavy crash last time out at Assen. The gritty English rider posted a superb fifth place, right on the heels of fourth place finisher Broc Parkes (Kawasaki).

Florian Marino (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) battled hard for a top four place at one stage but had to settle for seventh, losing out on an eventual fight with local man Roberto Tamburini (Yamaha).

A first top ten finish in this class of racing was a welcome reward for Czech rider Ondrej Jezek (SMS Racing Honda), as some more established names struggled with either misfortune or a simple lack of pure pace at the fastest circuit on the entire WSBK calendar.

Balazs Nemeth (Team Hungary Toth Honda) scored a point again, and he is overall 18th in the standings. James Ellison (Bogdanka PTR Honda) failed to score points, but would have been well inside the top ten but for a last lap crash directly in front of him that pushed him off the circuit. He restarted after falling but was only 17th.

Vladimir Ivanov (Step Racing Team Honda) and Vittorio Iannuzzo (Kawasaki) collided on the final lap and neither scored points.

Miguel Praia (Parkalgar Honda) and Gino Rea (Step Racing Team Honda) each fell at high speed and were unable to restart their machines. Imre Toth (Team Hungary Toth Honda) also no-scored today after entering the pits while Robert Muresan (PTR Romania Honda) and Pawel Szkopek (Bogdanka PTR Honda) also retired.

Ruben Xaus

Fabien Foret

Honda rider comments:Jonathan Rea (Castrol Honda)
Race result: 6th / DNF Championship position: 4th
“Frustrating really is the word, especially in race one when we just didn’t have the speed on the straight. I could match the lap times when I was on my own and able to run the right lines. But as soon as I got involved in a race with anyone who slowed me down in the places I was fast, I got forced off the line and lost the speed. Sixth was OK but certainly not what I’d hoped for. I’ll have to see the footage of race two to find out what really happened, but I feel like I got clipped from the inside, which forced me up and into the guy on the outside. We’re going to Miller next, which has another long straight, so I hope the guys back at base can find something. Luckily, we’re testing there the week before the race so I hope that gives us at least a chance to do better than last year.”

Ruben Xaus (Castrol Honda)
Race result: 15th / 12th Championship position: 15th
“It has not been a very positive weekend at Monza which is a pity for all the guys in my team who have been working very hard. I have had some braking problems this weekend and stopping the bike has been hard. Today we also had some grip problems on the corner exits, which then makes it difficult to carry the speed down the Monza straights. We will approach the test and races at Miller in a positive way and see what more we can learn from the experience of this weekend.”

SUPERPORT Fabien Foret (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda)
Race result: 3rd – Championship position: 6th
“I messed up everything in the first chicane when Tamburini went a bit wide and pushed me off track. That was that; I could already see Chaz was far ahead and by the time I passed Broc and some other it was just too late. I tried to catch Scassa but it was hard by myself with no slipstream. I wanted to be safe at the end, score 16 points, and try to do even better at the next round in Misano.”

Sam Lowes (Parkalgar Honda)
Race result: 5th. Championship position: 7th
"My shoulder was really sore in the race and that was the hardest race of my life. I am not making excuses and the opposition rode well but I could not do what I wanted to do on the bike because of my shoulder. I ran a harder tyre to make it a bit easier for me near the end of the race. I would have taken fifth if you offered me it at the start of the weekend and I dug deep and gave it everything. Now I am just looking forward to Misano."

Robbin Harms (Harms Benjan Racing Team Honda)
Race result: 11th. Championship position: 4th
“I had so much trouble with a lack of speed and every time I was in the group another rider would pass me on the straight. I would outbrake him again, but then there would be two riders passing me, and that is just the story of my race. I would get overtaken by riders on the straight each time I moved up. It was one step forward and two back on the next straight. I was not expecting this much trouble here.”

Florian Marino (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda)
Race result: 7th. Championship position: 9th
“I could not get the rhythm I wanted and could not push on the tyre the way I needed to. I could not get it turning like I want. I was quite hard because I was fighting so much with the bike that on the last three laps I was exhausted. Compared to this morning in warm-up the feeling was not as good. To finish seventh means I take some good points and I hope for a better result at Misano.”

James Ellison (Bogdanka PTR Honda)
Race result: 17th. Championship position: 10th
“I had a bad first corner but a good recovery. I caught right up with Sam Lowes at one point but then the bike started cutting out. A few people got past and I turned the ignition off to reset the electronics but it was still an issue. I tried a few more things and I even put my hand up at one time because I thought I would be better to come instead of risking an accident. Things started working again so I carried on, and then I was forced off track and eventually toppled over on the final lap, when two riders crashed in front of me. I am disappointed not to have scored points when I was eighth going into the last lap.”

Ondrej Jezek (SMS Racing Team Honda)
Race result: 10th. Championship position: 16th
“My first top ten in WSS racing. I was in a group and in a hard race. I had a good start, went from 15th to 13th and then I got in a group for seventh place, fighting with David Salom. With five laps to go I had a weak part in my race and some riders overtook me but then I passed Giansanti and Harms. It was tough battle all through and then in the last lap Iannuzzo, Ivanov and Ellison crashed, so I finished tenth."